Rathdrum Boy Hurt In Mishap With Gun

A Rathdrum boy who borrowed his father’s pistol without permission was accidentally shot Sunday when a friend dropped the gun.

The boy, whose name authorities wouldn’t release, was taken to Kootenai Medical Center. The hospital wouldn’t confirm his condition without a name.

Rathdrum Patrolwoman Tomi McLean said the bullet struck the boy in the knee. He was conscious and alert afterward, she said.

Police and medics were called to the home at 1:43 p.m. For security reasons, police held the ambulance crew back for 10 minutes until the pistol was found. The boy’s scared companions had hidden it, McLean said. They turned it over when police showed up.

The boy apparently took the 9mm semiautomatic to show his friends, McLean said. The youths took it into the basement to look at it. One boy dropped it, setting it off.

McLean said the bullet may have ricocheted off the concrete floor, then went through a wall and into the center of the victim’s knee.

The pistol is being held as evidence, McLean said. She said it will be returned to the father of the victim.

“His dad didn’t know he had it,” she said. “He (the father) was pretty upset.”

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